Black Minnesotans way more likely to get arrested for marijuana than whites, report says

Outside the Hennepin County Government Center, Nicole Simms highlights the findings of a report she authored for Minnesota 2020

A new report published by Minnesota 2020 reiterates what cannabis activists have been saying for years, in some cases decades -- that marijuana reform is not merely a matter of medical necessity but of civil rights.

Relying on FBI statistics from 2011, the progressive think tank found that black Minnesotans are 6.4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. That figure is twice the national average and mostly represents men under the age of 25.

"That kind of over-representation cannot be accounted for without racial
bias," says Steve Fletcher, executive director of the Minnesota 2020, at a news
conference Monday. "Black Minnesotans bear a disproportionate share of
the personal and collateral costs of our war on drugs."

The ACLU came to a similar conclusion last year, but what sets this
report apart is it attempt to quantify direct and indirect costs. These
would include the obvious (fines, court fees) as well as the
not-so-obvious (access to federal student loans, loss of wages,
possible deportation).

The Minnesota 2020 report concludes that, in the most extreme scenario, a Minneapolis resident on public assistance who's convicted
of felony possession (more than one and a half ounces)
and deemed ineligible for drug court could lose $76,371 over a decade.
This number takes into consideration possible jail time,
depleted job prospects, and a five-year eviction from public housing.

The report puts the blame largely on police practices that target poorer
neighborhoods with historically higher crime rates. Though marijuana use is about
equal across races, whites are statistically less likely to be stopped and
searched. The highest disparity now exists in Ramsey County, where
blacks are 8.8 times more likely to get charged with felony marijuana
possession.

Randy Gustafson, spokesman for the Ramsey County Sheriff's
Office, says his department is in the
process of installing a new computer system that would share arrest data across
the nine municipal agencies within its boundaries. That way, patterns of arrest
can be analyzed in-house.

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This report, as another oft-cited piced in the Washington Post, leave much to be desired, data-wise.

the only measure of pot usage is "used in the past 12 months,"......

well,,,, if you use it four times a week versus twice a month, you probably stand a, say, eight times greater chance of being arrested for smoking pot, no?

In other words, this report doesn't really show us unfair disparities in arrests rates for pot use among racial groups.

And anecdotally, from what you know, isn't it probably likely that black men, ages 16 to 60, use pot more than white men of the same age cohort? Let's get better data before we start twisting our knickers over supposed racial disparities in arrests......

So the cure/finding/recommendation from this bogus "Study" implies making pot legal in order to prevent the illegality and to cure the "Inequity." So just make murder legal next. This follows the insane thinking of these Democrat DFL Liberal Progs.

Actually, a major study carried out in the 1990s showed that the conviction rate for blacks for the same crime was *less* in every category of felony except one: traffic stops. So I am willing to believe you when you say that black people are more likely to be convicted of moving violations. But for all other crimes, it is not true.

No. Almost 90% of marijuana related arrests are made for simple possession, and it's naive to think that there are just black guys all over Minneapolis driving around selling drugs to innocent white graphic designers. Marijuana use among 20-something-year-olds of all races is generally about the same. Your white young professional is buying his weed from another white young professional; the only difference is that they aren't being sought after and charged by an unfair, unbalanced legal system. The "drug war" is a war on people of color, and it always has been.

Could it be that the one side is the seller and the other side is the buyer? Read: black guys driving across town to sell to white graphic designers, who then just take the weed back to their condo, rather than drive around with it? Is that a possibility?

She should tell blacks not to walk down the middle of the freaking street smoking a joint while littering fast food bags. They might not get busted so much more frequently. The Democrats are just using this as Race Merchandizing and Pandering. So what do you do? Just make it legal so these guys can walk down the middle of the street and smoke it legally? Freaking Lunatics.

It's written by morons that want us to make something legal that is illegal, just to prevent a group of people with one skin color from breaking the law at an "unequal" rate. So, just make it legal since one group of folks are breaking the law at a much higher rate.

@digitalprotocol Oh, you mean as opposed to "Black Minnesotans?". Your Common Core Myopia makes you an idiot. Here is another for you: "Blacks more likely to be arrested in Downtown Mpls for driving down the street shooting through cars........than whites...." Can you explain to me how these facts make me a racist? I did not make them up you sick prog.

@digitalprotocol@kurt124 There you go again, hating people because of their skin color, sexual orientation, and those that disagree with you. Just read your posts.

My income does not make me a better person than others, but it does you! By all measures i am superior to you. I have likely created more children than you, produce more than you, and give more. You just spew hate on this site. My language is superior to your trash mouth. Do you generally hate folks for just being superior to you in every way? Envy just makes you mad!

Be Happy! Try saying something nice to someone from time to time, you will feel better.

I love exposing you for who you are! All i have to do is engage you and you
go Ape shit. Do you see how the word *ag sounds different in tone
than the word Gay???? You refer to anyone different than you
in pejorative terms, making you what you accuse others of being. Anyone
can see this by following your comment thread. You truly are
disturbed.

BTW my business acumen makes me out earn and produce you tenfold but my
major in school was.......wait for it.....wait for it....you are gonna hate me
even more......wait for it a bit longer.............BA in Communications and
the Humanities!!!!!!! LOL Hate me more because i do
well.

Digital P, i am here only because of the fun it is when you are here!
I like pointing out the hypocrisy of you Lib Prog Dumocrats. Now
you owe all Gay folks an apology for your above rant.